The Associated Press did a nationwide survey of
bridge conditions in 2007, and recently a follow-up piece to assess
progress. The first report found that 20 heavily traveled Texas spans were
classified “structurally deficient” by highway authorities. A
year later, only one has been fixed.
Engineers apply the term “structurally
deficient” to bridges that are so deteriorated they must be repaired
or closely monitored. America’s 590,000 bridges are rated on a scale
of 1 to 100, and any scoring 80 or lower are problematic enough to qualify
for federal repair funds. The I-35 bridge in Minneapolis where 13 people
were killed last August was rated 50 when it went down. One of the 20 Texas
bridges has a score of 46.
What we have here is an abject failure of political
leadership going back 30 years. Budget-slashing, no-tax boneheads took over
the public debate in the late 1970s. Politicians of both parties simply
quit funding the year-in-year-out maintenance necessary to keep our
national house from . . . well, from collapsing.
“Bridging the Gap”
(www.transportation1.org/BridgeReport/), a report from the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation, says the tab will be $140
billion just to repair existing bridges. Most are designed to last a
maximum of 50 years, and the average age of the country’s spans is
already 43 years — with one in five having passed the half-century
mark.
Equally alarming is the inaccuracy of the National
Bridge Inventory. After the Minneapolis crash, federal authorities mandated
an emergency inspection of all similar steel-deck truss bridges. The
inventory listed 756 of these. Wrong. Inspectors found that 280 were not
that type at all. Indeed, 16 didn’t even exist, 13 were wooden, and a
Maryland bridge was actually in Pennsylvania.
Come on, people, this is America. These essential
assets must be fixed and kept up. Start demanding that every political
candidate — from city council to president — get on the ball.
Jim Hightower is a
national radio commentator, columnist, and author.
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2008.
